


Absence

by SaeranLover



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Kidnapping, MC is in Yoosung's classes, and MC lives in the same building as Rika's apartment, descriptions of violence, only half of the first chapter posted for some reason but it's fine now~, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-20 13:06:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9492338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaeranLover/pseuds/SaeranLover
Summary: After fearing that you were being followed home from classes, you ask one of your classmates - Yoosung Kim - to give you some company on your journey.Except, being followed home wasn't the danger.





	1. Journey home

Fear was coursing through your veins. You had just been heading home from one of your classes today, and now you had become aware of somebody trailing after you. You kept turning around and couldn’t see anyone who remained in your line of sight for more than a few seconds… So why did you feel as though you were being watched?

Either way, you were glad that you were almost back to the apartment building which you lived in. You just had a short train ride back, and then things would be good. But… you would have preferred it if you _didn’t_ feel as though you were being stalked.

Then, thankfully, you heard a familiar voice humming a quiet tune. That was one of your classmates! With a sigh, you turned around and caught sight of the blonde, and waved your hand about a bit. “Hey! Yoosung!” You quickly caught his attention, before grinning as he looked your way and began to walk over to you. He waved back at you just before he reached you.

“Hey there, MC!” He pulled his bag up his shoulders, before sighing. “I hope you’re not going to ask me about how I did in those midterms… ha…” Moments after Yoosung has taken a place opposite you, the panic which you were feeling began to subside. Perhaps it was just because you weren’t alone anymore. Though you still felt worried, this was a much preferable situation.

“Oh, no… I was just wondering… Where in the city do you live?” You glanced around slightly, and bit your lip. “I… think I was being followed up to now, and, well, I know you, so…” You began fumbling on your words, but Yoosung’s violet eyes widened.

“You think that you’re being followed?!” He whispered, before looking around at all of the other people nearby. “That must have been really scary… B- But if you want me to, I could, um, go with you back to where you live so that you feel safe! I wouldn’t mind getting my mind off those terrible midterms… And I live quite central, so it doesn’t really matter about where you live…” He noticed how you were now looking around fearfully once more, before he clenched his fists. “Just leave it to Superman Yoosung! I’ll get you home safely, MC!”

That little remark made you laugh quietly, and that made Yoosung sigh. He was such a sweet guy – one of the nicest people in your classes – and his offer to help you was quite relieving… “Yoosung… Thank you…”

“No problem!”

For the next few minutes, until you and Yoosung got to the train station, the two of you spoke about different things. Your hobbies (you found it sweet that he was an avid fan of online games, and calling himself ‘Superman Yoosung’ was actually a slight reference to his usernames), what your families were like, and also about little things such as what your favourite food and drinks were. It was quite entertaining, actually.

After a while, you and Yoosung ended up trading some online notes that you had made from classes using your phones, just for the sake of making sure that no details were missed out from either of your own notes.

It was when that was done that the train pulled up, and you sighed. “My home isn’t too far from the stop that I get off at, but… would you mind keeping me company until I get to the building?” Yoosung then nodded as the two of you got onto the train, and took a seat.

It was that moment where your phone started going off with a notification from an app which you never remembered downloading. Yoosung seemed to react quite oddly when the sound went off though, and scrambled for his phone and then muttering something about a ‘false alarm’.

Either way, the conversation which occurred over that app was strange… It got to a point where you felt like you had to ask Yoosung what to do.

“So… Apparently, somebody has lost their phone, and only my number was on it… The person who found the phone wants to know if I’d help to find the owner… What do you think that I should do?” You gave Yoosung a confused look, and he took a moment to think on it.

“Wouldn’t it be easier and safer to hand the phone in to the police?”

“That’s what I said to this person… But they said that they’re not even in town to give the phone _to_ the police…” Yoosung quickly moved so that he was sat closer to you, and he peered over your shoulder. “It’s a bit scary that they’re insistent on me helping.”

Yoosung nodded, before he was looking at the messages with you. “I’ll stay with you then… By the way, isn’t this your stop?”

You looked outside the train window, and your eyes widened. _It was!_ You had to jump up and grab hold of Yoosung’s wrist, before running over to the slowly closing doors and getting through the gap onto the platform. You apologised as much as you could, but Yoosung just laughed and said that you had no need to apologise and that he had done the same thing many times before.

And then… An address came through on the app which the messages were on. It was a building on the fourteenth floor… _Of the same building which you lived in._ You lived on the ninth floor, so the person who lost the phone that the stranger was using lived only five floors away from you…

“Yoosung… Apparently the person who lost the phone lives in the same building as me. Would it be worth knocking on when I return to my apartment? I mean… I could run to my own apartment if I get into any sort of danger…” You then were silent for a moment, before shaking your head. “Actually, I won’t… It could still be really dangerous, especially considering that I felt as though I was being followed before…”

Yoosung nodded in agreement, before he gasped and pulled out his phone as you closed and uninstalled that mysterious app. “We should exchange phone numbers! I liked talking to you today, so maybe… we could do it again some time! You could text me when you get back to your apartment, if you want!” You smiled and nodded at his request, before you quickly put your phone number into Yoosung’s contacts, and he did the same with his number and your contacts.

Then, just to make sure, you sent a quick ‘:)’ to Yoosung, and noticed it pop up on his screen.

A few moments later, you found yourself outside the apartment building, and smiled at your classmate. “Well… I’m home now. Do you want to, y’know… have a drink at my place, or would you rather head home now, Yoosung?”

Yoosung thought for a moment, and sighed. “I need to get home… I have a LOLOL quest to do with my guild at five, so I’ll have to go now if I want to eat before then! Remember to text me when you get back to your apartment!” Yoosung grinned, before waving as he left. Once he was about two buildings down, he then gasped and turned around before waving his arm about. “See you in class tomorrow!”

You waited outside the building until Yoosung had turned off the road, before sighing and entering the building. You quickly made your way over and into the elevator, and quickly pressed to go to the floor which you lived on. It felt like the elevator took _ages_ to move, but eventually, the doors opened and you stepped out onto the ninth floor, before heading down to your apartment.

As you fished around in your pockets to find your keys, you texted a quick ‘ _Just at my apartment now, getting my keys atm’_ to Yoosung, before putting your phone away. Then, you found your keys and inserted them into the lock… Just as your wrist got grabbed hold of.

“Little shit… It was only five more floors. _Why_ did you ignore me? Why did you uninstall the app?” The person grabbed at your hair then, making you shriek as he pushed you down to the floor. “And now, thanks to you… The mission failed. I suppose that I _could_ erase you… But that would be no fun, would it? Maybe you would do good as my assistant, MC…”

You turned pale as the strange looking man towered over you, before he reached down and grabbed hold of your bag and phone, and unlocking your apartment. He tossed the two objects in, before pulling the door closed and locking it. Your keys then went into his pocket, and his minty green eyes lit up with amusement. “So scared… There’s no reason to be scared. You’re coming to paradise now.”

 

 

Yoosung smiled as he received your text, so he sent back a cheerful emoji as he went and opened the RFA messenger. He had got home faster than expected, so he had the time to enter the chatroom.

 

_Zen: Ah, hello there, Yoosung. How was your day~?_

_Yoosung: You sound like you’re in a good mood today, Zen…_

_707: Oh! Oh! Zen got a new role today, that’s why!_

_Zen: HEY!_

_Jaehee: Now now… Let’s keep things tame in here for now. We asked Yoosung how his day was._

_Jumin: Such phatic talk…_

_Yoosung: Well… I failed my midterms, so fml…_

_Yoosung: BUT_

_Yoosung: I was speaking to a really nice girl today! She’s in my classes, so I’ve known her for a while…_

_707: God… Our baby Yoosung is growing up! Where’s my hankie?!_

_Yoosung: Seven…_

_Yoosung: The main reason that I was speaking to her though was because she felt as though she was being followed… I couldn’t let her return home all scared!_

_Jumin: How chivalrous._

_Jaehee: What is the name of this woman, Yoosung?_

_Yoosung: Oh! Her name is MC!_

_Zen: Odd name… But I bet she’s really lucky to have a boyfriend like you, Yoosung!_

_Yoosung: SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, ZEN!_

_707: She’s cute._

_707: lololol I just found the two of you walking together in security footage from twenty minutes ago_

Yoosung pouted as he switched on his computers, and pulled his headphones over his head so that he could prepare to play LOLOL with his guild. He noticed how Luciel posted screenshots of the security footage, before he then went and pressed the icon for his favourite game. After that, he said bye to the other RFA members, and stretched his arms out ready for the first round.

“I’m _so_ ready for this now… I’m so pumped up after the support which MC gave me when we were heading to get the train!” He then heard his knuckles crack as he stretched his arms out. “I can’t wait to see her in class tomorrow!”


	2. The 14th floor apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You weren't sure on what was happening, but it was terrifying.  
> Meanwhile, Yoosung decides to investigate why you weren't in class like you had promised.

Your eyes shot open when you felt your body jerk, and your right arm hit something really hard. A slight throbbing feeling lingered in your limb, so you went to rub it with your left hand. Something rough chafed against your skin, and it was almost impossible to move your arms properly.

Another jerk, and then your head hit something with a slight thud. Your eyes shot open, but then you realised that you couldn’t see anything. You were able to move both of your hands up to touch your face, and realised that there was material covering your eyes. It was almost impossible for you to move your hands behind your head though, so that meant that you would remain blindfolded for the time being.

But why was your movement so restricted? Why were you blindfolded?

_Oh… Yeah…_

_Just after you parted ways with Yoosung, and got to your apartment… Some guy with white hair and green eyes grabbed hold of you, annoyed that you didn’t go to the floor that he wanted you to go to… Had he knocked you out and kidnapped you?!_

It didn’t explain the sudden bumps and thuds though… Unless… _You were trapped in some sort of moving vehicle._

You felt close to screaming then, but there was then the sudden realisation that you couldn’t part your lips. _Your mouth too?!_

After a few minutes of panicking and writhing about to try and free yourself, the movements stopped. Everything seemed to be still. Your heart was racing then, until you heard something above you move. Cold air was quick to touch your body, so the first thing which you did was _kick. Thank God for your kidnapper not tying up your legs!_

A hand grabbed onto your ankle, and there was a quiet growl. “Don’t make me restrain your legs too. You’re either going to come with me obediently, or I’ll _drag_ you.”

 

 

Yoosung sighed as he packed up his belongings after class, and completely blanked out everything which was happening around him. He had fun chatting to you yesterday, and was wanting to ask you if he could walk you home again today. _Except…_ You had never showed up that day.

He quickly sent you a text asking if you were okay, before throwing his bag over his shoulders. Some people from the class called over to him asking if he wanted to go to a party that night, but he shook his head and started to leave.

All that he could concentrate on was the fact that you, his newest friend, hadn’t even attended class…

After a while, Yoosung found himself taking the same journey which he had taken with you the day before. He got on the train at the same place as the two of you did, and remained silent as he watched the scenery passed by. Then he thought… Some stranger had contacted you on your phone and asked for you to visit an apartment on the 14th floor of the same building that you lived in. He could just about remember the apartment number too…

_Had you gone and visited it, and come into some sort of problem there?_

As soon as Yoosung reached your stop, he jumped up and then ran straight to the building you lived in. He only knew that you lived on the ninth floor… But he definitely knew the exact 14th floor apartment that you were told to go to…

When inside the building, he quickly took the elevator up to the floor of the mystery apartment, and then he quickly made his way down the hallway until he reached the right number.

He noticed a passcode lock on the door, and rolled his eyes. But then… He noticed something written just about the passcode lock.

‘ _RFA’._

“Is this… Rika’s apartment?!” In a slight panic, he then went and quickly sent a text message to Luciel saying ‘ _SEVEN I THINK THAT WHILST LOOKING FOR MC I MAY HAVE FOUND RIKA’S APARTMENT IN THE EXACT SAME BUILDING THAT SHE LIVES IN ;o;’_

“Let _go_ of me!” You were struggling as you felt yourself be dragged somewhere. You knew that it was a building, as the flooring underneath you was smooth… tiled, for that matter. And you only knew that due to your shoes being removed at some point because of your repeated attempts to kick your kidnapper just before your ankles had been tied up too. “I don’t _want_ to be here… Take me home, _please!_ ”

“No. If you wanted to remain at home, you should have gone to that apartment… Now we’ve got to punish you for not listening to me…”

“ _We?!_ There’s m- more than one of you?!” You were terrified for your life then… This person who had kidnapped you was _working with other people?!_

You got no response as you heard a door opening, and then, you got shoved down to the ground. You hurt your arm on the floor, and whimpered quietly as you then heard the door being closed and locked. Your breathing was frantic, but then you felt your breath catch when a hand began to rest on your arm. “Now… Are you going to listen to me, or not?” You shook your head, tears beginning to drench the blindfold which was covering your eyes. “I said… _Are you going to listen to me?”_

“N- Never!” You almost screamed, before your arms got pinned to the floor above your head. You did your best to thrash about, but a firm hand on your waist kept you firmly in one spot. “I- I won’t… I want to… g- go home…”

“You’re _not_ going home. Now, be a good girl and give me the answer that I want. _Are you going to listen?”_

“No!”

The hand on your waist moved to your leg, and the man’s nails dug into your skin, and scraped down. You could have sworn that a few faint trails of blood began to trickle down your skin, he was that rough. Then… a hand firmly clamped around your neck. “ _Wrong answer.”_

“So… let me get this straight. This MC never showed up to any classes today, so you wanted to check if she was okay. You knew that she lived in this building, but not which apartment… But you remembered a stranger telling her to go to _this_ apartment… So you decided to investigate here to see if she did end up visiting…”

“Basically…” Yoosung muttered as he stood just inside the apartment with the passcode lock with Luciel. “I know that she lives on the ninth floor, but I knew this apartment’s number…” He glanced around, and looked at the dusty furniture and computers. “I don’t know why a stranger wanted to send her to Rika’s apartment though…”

Luciel nodded, before he quickly typed something in on his phone. “’sides, even if she came into this apartment, she doesn’t have the RFA messenger on her phone. That’s the only reason the security system isn’t setting off with us in here…” He then waited for a moment, and grinned. “Apartment 9F. That’s where she lives. My little Yoosung can finally reunite with his long lost love!” Luciel waited for Yoosung to glare at him, before his look turned serious. “... As long as he swears to never _ever_ reveal this apartment’s location to _anyone._ I’ll have to let V know that you’re aware of it, but I think that he’d probably be cool with you knowing, being Rika’s cousin and all.”

Yoosung nodded, before he then went over to the apartment door, intent on heading down to your apartment to see if you were okay. Luciel was quick to catch up to Yoosung, and watched just how _worried_ the student seemed to be. His eyes were wavering, the normal excitement and shine having faded. On top of that, his hands were shaking.

“Yoosung… You know, you can be honest with me… I’m being completely serious here, I swear. Do you… like this MC?” Luciel questioned as the elevator slowly made its way down.

After sighing quietly, Yoosung nodded. “She’s like a ball of energy in classes… Smart, always answering questions, gets amazing grades… I was really excited when she called me to accompany her home yesterday. She was really nice to talk to… She was really supportive of my hobbies… Even sent me notes that I’ve missed in classes. She is really, _really_ nice… We even traded phone numbers just before we parted ways. I… It was weird, I really do like her… More than other girls I’ve spoken to over the years. Maybe even more than I liked Rika…” Yoosung trailed off when the elevator doors opened, and he and Luciel began to make their way down the hall to your apartment.

Luciel grinned as he pulled a paperclip out of his pocket, and then started picking your apartment lock before Yoosung even had a chance to knock. The door quickly swung open, and both of them looked inside. Yoosung noticed your phone and bag were on the floor, so he gulped and called out your name quietly.

No response came.

Following that, Luciel nonchalantly strolled inside, and began to open the doors to each of the apartment’s rooms. You weren’t there. He then went and picked up your phone, and his eyes widened.  “The screen is all cracked… As though it was threw in here with a lot of force.” He then peered into your bag, and frowned. “Her laptop has damage from brute force too. Yoosung, I’m going to quickly check the ninth floor CCTV on my phone. Come in and close the door, will you?” The student silently did as Luciel said, before the hacker gasped. “Yoosung, you’re not going to like this…”


	3. The beginning of an initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Yoosung worries about you, it is decided that you are to go through the initiation process into Mint Eye.

****“You mean to say…”

“This guy didn’t look at a camera once – as though he _knew_ where they all were – and his voice was being manipulated by what seems to be a mask. It’s going to be _very_ hard to identify him…” Luciel stood up, and frowned. “I’ll have an easier time trying to see if I can follow his tracks if I can use my computers… I’ll try and do that, and if I get a dead end… I’ll make sure that the police become aware of a missing person report, okay, Yoosung?”

Yoosung bit his lip, but he slowly nodded in acceptance. You had been taken… And Luciel had the only leads when it came to your disappearance. “I… hope that she’s okay…”

“I’m sure that she will be. Just leave things to defender of justice, 707!”

 

 

“Saviour… The one which we determined would enter the apartment failed. She returned to her own home, just a few floors down. She even had the cheek to uninstall the application…”

“So did you kill her, as according to the plan for if she failed?”

“No, Saviour… But please, listen to my reason…”

“You have one minute, Saeran. If I am not satisfied, you are to be punished for insubordination, and re-cleansed.” Frustrated green eyes were quick to meet a pair of determined mint coloured eyes which were matched with a similar smirk.

“She was accompanied on her return to the building… By Yoosung Kim.” The woman rose from her throne after the hacker had spoken, her eyes having a somewhat softer look on her face. “We may not use her to get close to RFA, and take them all at once… But we can use her to get to Yoosung. She’s his _classmate_ too. If we get Yoosung, we will eventually be able to get all of the other members to Mint Eye too.”

There was a menacing grin on the woman’s face then, but that was quick to be replaced with delight. “Saeran, begin an initiation for her immediately.” She then waved her hand dismissively, indicating that it was time for Saeran to leave the room. “Oh… And begin the preparation to lure Yoosung here too… I cannot wait to see my _dear_ cousin again.

He quickly left, and he started laughing quietly to himself as he made his way to the room which you were locked in. You had been taken about a day ago now, so you were likely to be crying for something to eat and something to drink soon… That or you’d be unconscious, just as he had left you.

His suspicions over you being unconscious were confirmed as he reached the room and opened the door. You were completely limp, hair spread across the floor and body unmoving. Light bruises covered your body, but primarily around the ropes keeping your arms and legs tied together, and on your bare heels. There was dried blood across your thigh, coming from where his nails had scraped along your skin.

“Hmm… I can’t wait for Mint Eye to welcome this princess, and hopefully alongside her prince…” He kneeled down, before smirking. “However, I need her to be awake to begin the initialisation, so wakey wakey, little lady…” He pinched your nostrils together with one hand, before covering your mouth with the other. That made you suddenly jump awake with the desire to breathe. As you no longer possessed the blindfold, your eyes were wide with fear, and you started thrashing about as soon as you realised that he was there.

“Good evening… You’ve been a good, obedient prisoner, haven’t you? Staying unconscious whilst I spoke to the saviour, and not causing anybody any bother… That deserves a reward, doesn’t it?” He laughed, watching as you tried to pull yourself away from him as you started to cry. “You have a choice… You take the pills like a good girl… Or I break you before you take them anyway. Which do you want?”

“T- Take me home… G- Go away…”

Saeran felt almost excited at your response. He made sure that you were completely pinned under his weight as he pulled a small pocket knife out, before his eyes lit up with pure amusement. “Looks like I’ll have to break you then…” He ran the blade across his thumb, and a small bead of blood formed on his skin. “This will do well…” You closed your eyes out of fear when he licked his thumb, and then cleaned the blade on his trousers.

You had to hold back a loud scream when the cold metal came into contact with your cheek, but it didn’t stop the tears from forming.

You just wanted to be at _home,_ not going through whatever _this_ was…

 

 

LOLOL just wasn’t enough to keep Yoosung distracted come nightfall. He would try to play a round, but would repeatedly have his character killed. Quests were failed, party members were annoyed, and his guild was questioning whether he was okay.

“Of course I’m not okay…” He muttered as he pressed the button to log out of the game, before kicking his chair back and unintentionally making it fall back. He went stumbling down onto the floor, and sighed deeply as he stared up at the ceiling. “It’s so weird, I’ve spoken to girls from my classes before now… Why am I like this over MC though?” He continued to stare up as tears welled up in his eyes. “Maybe… It’s the Rika-like vibes I got from her when we were talking… She was so supportive, and smiled a lot… Maybe it could be because she was the one who spoke to me, asking for help…”

Yoosung remained silent as he then pulled himself up from the floor, and relocated to his bed. He messed about on a few apps on his phone for a few minutes, before sighing as he grew easily bored of them. He let his phone fall to his side, and he groaned loudly when he closed his eyes.

What pulled him out of his boredom was when his phone began to ring. He answered it without even opening his eyes, and brought it over to his ear.

“Hello…?”

“ _Yoosung? Is that you? This is V… I really need to talk to you as soon as possible. Are you available now?”_


	4. Discoveries (and the lack thereof)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung talks with V and learns the truth about Rika.   
> You're still getting injured in Mint Eye by your kidnappers.   
> Seven is being tortured in a different way... with work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that updates have been quite slow recently... I've been having to deal with a situation to do with my horrible 'step-mother' who believes that it's a wonderful idea to blame me for things which upset me so much whilst also trying to control what I do with my life, so I've been doing what I can to get away from her in whatever ways I can...   
> Things should start calming down now that I've moved in with my boyfriend though, so update frequency should slowly start increasing to what it previously was.

“You’d better have a good reason for wanting to talk to me at this time, V…” Yoosung sighed as he leaned against a railing at a bridge, overlooking the river which ran through the city. “I’m… Not feeling too well at the moment.”

“I promise, there’s a good reason behind this, Yoosung…” V moved to stand by his side, before taking a deep breath. “I need to tell you about something. You deserve to know, because I have a nagging worry at the back of my head that this has something to do with that friend of yours who has disappeared.” Yoosung remained silent, and refused to make eye contact. “The RFA isn’t the only organisation which Rika founded. She created another group called Mint Eye at about the same time.”

Yoosung wasn’t sure on how to respond to that. _How could that have anything to do with your appearance?_

“The thing is… I don’t know how you’d react to this, but I promise that this is the truth. Rika… suffered from depression when she was with us. And after the death of Sally… She was driven to find ‘happiness’ and ‘paradise’. That was Mint Eye’s main aim…” V fell silent at the sight of Yoosung tensing up. “And… it still is. She is hell-bent on it.”

Once V had finished speaking, Yoosung thought over what he had just said. He knew that Rika desired happiness, because that was a shared aim of the RFA’s charity parties... But… ‘ _She **is** hell-bent on it’?_ Surely he meant ‘was’, if she had committed suicide? Unless….

“V… Are you saying that Rika is alive? For two and a half years, you’ve been _lying_ about Rika being dead?!” He grabbed V by the shirt, and his violet eyes were filled with rage. “And why are you bringing this up after receiving the news that I _found_ Rika’s apartment in the same building that my _missing friend and classmate_ lives in?! Is MC with Rika, V?!” Now Yoosung was shaking, seeing the fear in V’s face. “I _can’t_ believe this… Absolutely can’t believe this… Y- You should have- You should have told me earlier!”

“I- I know, I know… This is why I- I wanted to tell you that I am going to go there to see if MC is there where Rika is… A- And if she is, to see if she can be saved before she reaches the same point that Rika did…”

 

 

Your chest… It hurt. Almost as though there was a heavy weight upon it. Maybe it’s because there was, but you weren’t entirely sure. He had blindfolded you again as you kept refusing to take some drugs, and you kept getting hurt. Different people kept coming and laughing at your ‘insubordination’, before you would have water poured on you to keep you awake and make the open cuts sting more.

There had been a point that somebody had tried ripping your clothes off to hurt you even more, but a woman’s voice called out for them to stop and that what they were doing was ‘not a part of the initiation’. Said woman then ended up taking hold of your hands and started doing something to your palms, muttering something about you being ‘too tainted by the outside world, but not beyond help’.

Then she said something about Yoosung. Why did they know about Yoosung? Was it because of him accompanying you when you felt as though you were being followed? Were you… meant to have been taken earlier, but Yoosung had stopped them from being able to do that?

You let out a deep breath which you never knew that you were holding in when the weight upon you had been removed. They must have had something on you if that was the case…

“How? How is she not weakening?! How is she not submitting and taking the drugs?! Saviour-!” The voice of your original kidnapper cried out, before what felt like a foot drove into your side, making you whimper. “Why won’t she break?!”

“If she won’t take it… We will just have to inject it. If she does not break, we will have to force her into paradise. We need bait to get my cousin here, and if we have to force her through the initiation, so be it.”

“Surely we can just threaten Yoosung into coming though! Say that she’ll get hurt if he refuses!”

“Saeran. No. I want for Yoosung to be happy whilst in paradise… Hurting her or even threatening her is not the path we need to take.”

 

 

“And if I follow this path… He vanishes into thin air with her. How does that happen?!” Luciel muttered as he followed the CCTV footage, before he buried his head in his hands. “I need to find her for Yoosung… But-!”

“Hey! Agent!” And _there_ was the voice which he was dreading. “Do I have to get my taser out? And my god, how can you even _live_ in this mess?!” Luciel quickly hid the videos and research he had been doing on his monitors, before opening up the work for his agency which he was _meant_ to be doing. “Have you got any further in the work which you needed doing?”

“Um… Kinda. I kept getting called, and I realised that my babies needed refuelling, so I had to refill them, and then I found out about my low supply of Doctor Pepper-!”

Vanderwood cut off Luciel by growling and holding a taser in front of his face. The crackling sound it made ended up forcing him into gulping, so he nodded. “I will shoot a bullet through each of those cars and those drinks if you have not finished this work by tomorrow afternoon… Get it? I’ll be back in one hour, so you had better have some more work done. The animal print car goes _first._ ”

Once the coast was clear, Luciel groaned. _How was he going to help find you whilst Vanderwood was breathing down his neck…? Yoosung was going to be so distraught…_


	5. The change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung debates whether he can trust V or not... And you've just been forced to take what you'd been resisting for a few days by this point.

Ever since V had said that he was going to investigate whether you were wherever Rika was… Yoosung had felt conflicted. Could he trust V? Could he trust him enough to find you? Or… Would he lose all trust in him? Take matters into his own hands, rather than leaving things to V?

He just _wasn’t_ sure.

His mind was made up when his phone started going off with a strange message though.

‘ _Join us in paradise, Yoosung Kim. Your missing friend is waiting for you.’_

He had to admit, the message… _scared_ him. _Terrified_ him. But… It confirmed what V had feared. He said that Rika was hell-bent on ‘paradise’… But that meant that you were in danger, both mentally and physically… And that scared Yoosung even more than the message.

He eventually fought back his pride, and sent a message of his own to V.

‘ _Please… I’m 100% sure that MC is where Rika is… I want to go with you, V. Please, let me go with you! If not for me… for MC. You said yourself that you don’t want her to reach the same point that Rika did, right? Or are you not sticking with your word?’_

Your hands were clasped around your throat due to a horrible, burning feeling which remained persistent. It felt as though you had just ate some burning hot food whilst having a sore throat, but with the pain intensified at least ten times. And you knew what the cause of the pain was too… The drugs which had been forced down your throat about an hour ago (or perhaps even less than that, because time was moving too slowly for you when being kept prisoner here…)

The thing is, your kidnapper was just stood in the room, staring at you as you writhed with pain… He wasn’t saying anything, he wasn’t doing anything. He was just… Staring.

Eventually, you felt your body grow limp beneath you. Sitting up was too much of an effort for you… It hurt too much. It was at that moment the kidnapper finally walked over to you, and crouched down. “Hmm… You’re strong, aren’t you? Most people give in to the Medicine of Salvation’s effect after the first dosage in about ten minutes. You’ve been here for about forty minutes… maybe you’re just resisting, but perhaps you are very strong…” He took hold of your chin, and lifted your head up. Just seeing your arms move about numbly and limply beneath you made you feel petrified.

You didn’t even have the energy to talk… Keeping your eyes open was enough of an effort.

“Now… In a few moments, you’re going to fall asleep. When you wake up… you’ll be in a better place.” He then leaned into your ear as soon as you felt your consciousness begin to fade. “I _promise_.”

Eventually, you began to open your eyes. Your scenery was already brighter than the previous room, and something felt… Strange. Your jaw felt a bit harder to move, so you moved your hand up to your face to feel if there was anything wrong. Your eyes widened when your fingers brushed over some sort of soft padding on your cheek, exactly where you had been cut by your kidnapper…

As soon as you felt that you had the energy, you sat up and adjusted your skirt so that you could look at your leg. The cuts from the kidnapper’s nails dragging down your legs… They had been tended to also. Frantically, you then went and looked over each and every single one of your injuries. _All_ of them had been given the medical attention they had needed…

“Relax…” A soft voice began to echo around the room as you tried to contemplate exactly what was going on. The voice was familiar, but you could have sworn that when you last heard it, it was more… aggressive, and agitated. “I had a feeling that you would be surprised when you woke up, as I had all of your injuries tended to… I promise, we do not mean you harm, we just wish the best for you.” You glanced around for a moment, before you were met with a pair of green eyes and long, wavy blonde hair.

You stared at the woman for a moment, before she laughed quietly. “There is no need to be afraid of me… My name is Rika, I am the saviour of this place.” She took hold of your hand, before smiling. “I promise too, Saeran meant no bad in taking you here. He was working on my orders. We just… Were surprised at your reaction to being brought here, that is all.”

You were scared of this woman, you wanted to attack her and run… But something was stopping your body from doing so. It was almost as though there were invisible chains acting on your body, keeping you under control. _You didn’t like that feeling one bit._

“As finally, you have taken the first step towards understanding happiness… I thought that it would be good to oversee your progress in here personally. I’ve taken a liking to you, and… I believe that just before you came here, my cousin did too.”

“Cousin…?” You had no idea who she was talking about, and that felt like the only thing that your body was allowing you to say.

“Yes, cousin… You do remember Yoosung, don’t you?”

_Oh god… Yoosung? As in your CLASSMATE Yoosung Kim?!  
_


	6. 21 hours, 35 minutes, and 17 seconds

“Can you stand? Good… I believe you haven’t been able to properly eat or drink for a few days, so I have prepared a meal for you. Take my hand, I’ll escort you to my room where the food awaits,” Rika smiled, taking hold of your hand and pulling you towards the doorway. Your body was aching so you could hardly keep up with her, so surprisingly, she slowed down so that you weren’t pushing yourself.

Eventually, she sat you down at a table in the intricately decorated room, before sitting down opposite you. “Ah… Feel free to help yourself to the food, we have plentiful resources here in Paradise,” Rika said cheerfully. “I have some of your favourites here, so feel free to eat to your heart’s desire… Oh, and would you like a drink? We have all sorts. Water, wine, juice, cola… Ah… One of my friends enjoys a certain type of wine, I wonder if you enjoy it too? You might get along with him when you meet him.”

But… You felt somewhat overwhelmed. So much food… So many drinks… And all after days of having literally nothing? You were scared of it being too much for you and ending with you feeling sick. As you worried about that though, you never noticed Rika looking you over with slight amusement and curiosity in her eyes.

Soon enough though, you had your fill of food. You had ate slowly, and had been poured a glass of red wine now that the table had been cleared. It was only now that you felt able to ask a question which had been on your mind. “Um… Rika… Why was I brought here? Why do you need me?”

There was a heavy silence for a few moments after you spoke, and Rika remained simply staring at you as she finished her own drink of wine. She delicately placed her glass down, before her face softened and a quiet giggle filled the room. “It is obvious… You _deserve_ to be here. I find you intriguing… And I believe that you would be excellent as my second in command here at Mint Eye.”

 

 

 

 

 

_707: I’m worried… Gahhhhhhh…._

_Jaehee Kang: And exactly why is that, Luciel?_

_707: V… and Yoosung… I’ve not heard from either of them in 21 hours, 35 minutes, and 17 seconds!_

_707: 18!_

_707: 19!_

_707: 20!_

_Jumin Han: Stop._

_707: 21!_

_707: oh….sorry…._

_707: But anyway, V I understand, but Yoosung generally comes online at least once in a three hour period! And according to their GPS signals from their phones, they were together before their phones went offline!_

_ZEN: Wait… are you saying that V and Yoosung are together??? Those two????_

_Jaehee Kang: And if their phones are offline… They are likely to be in trouble?_

_707: Bingo! One point to Zen, one point to Jaehee!_

_Jumin Han: Do you have any idea where they may be, or what they may be doing?_

_707: Yeah… I hacked into Yoosung’s phone data from before his phone disappeared. He had received a text message from an unknown number with no location…_

_707: ‘ _Join us in paradise, Yoosung Kim. Your missing friend is waiting for you.’__

 

 

 

“… I trust you… If I get to see MC…Rika… I’d be so happy…” Yoosung whispered, sitting opposite V with a concerned look on his face. The two of them had met up after he had received the mysterious text telling him to ‘join paradise’, and two of them had also decided that it was on their shoulders to get to you and Rika. V believed that Yoosung was far too tied up into the situation to not be involved any more, seeming as he knew where Rika lived, and that Mint Eye was a product of Rika’s mental illness.

“I think it’s best that we don’t let Luciel know what we’re doing. He’ll be too worried, and he has been buried in work a lot recently… Plus I believe somebody who could potentially devastate his life may be there, if the information I’ve got from sneaking around there is to be believed…”

“What on earth do you mean, V?!”

“A hacker… That goes by the name of Unknown. He’s threatened me many times before now, but I think he might also be behind MC’s disappearance and that message you got. He… His skills are on par with Luciel’s.” V fell silent after that, before he then smiled at Yoosung. “We will get them back… I promise you that. And if we don’t… I’ll leave the RFA. I’ll sacrifice myself to-!”

Yoosung stood up, and slammed his hands down onto the table as V spoke, making the photographer flinch. “And how is that any different than what you’ve been doing up to this point, V? You’ve practically not been a part of the RFA since Rika left us for Mint Eye!” There was a determined, fierce look forming on Yoosung’s face, and he was staring straight into V’s eyes as he made his point known. “If we don’t get those two back… We’re getting help. Seven, Jumin, everyone. I- I don’t want MC or Rika to keep suffering! I want MC to be safe at her home, not having to worry about what could happen to her! I want Rika to get the help that she needs… For her to know that she has a family in her friends… not in her cult…”

Eventually, Yoosung had tears slipping down his face. He was trembling, before he sat down and started wiping his eyes. “I- I love them both too much to let them fall into darkness… D- Don’t you, V…?”

“… Of course I do… Rika, she… She means everything to me… I’m her… She’s my…” V fell quiet, and stood up as he grabbed his cane. “Come on. We need to get to Mint Eye… I know the place. We need to save them both…”


	7. Cult reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoosung is losing his faith in V again - he just wanted to be reunited with you and Rika!

“Perhaps you would prefer this outfit, MC… We can provide a contrast for everyone here, and let them know that both light and darkness are present, whether they want just one of them or not…” Rika had decided to take you to a room filled with various different outfits, after she had pointed out that your current clothes were filthy and somewhat tattered. She held a white dress up in front of you, before nodding. “Yes… You are the light which brings out the dark… And I can be the dark, which brings out the light...”

You looked between her and the dress, before biting your lip. What did she mean by all of that? Light, dark, was it all some sort of strange metaphor?

Rika then looked at your arms, and bit her lip. “Would you need help to get changed? Your injuries may make things difficult for you...”

“I… I’ll be fine… I’d prefer to get changed in private though...” And as soon as she had left the room, you sank down onto the floor shaking. “G- God, why does she seem to think I’m so g- good and something which would fit with her in charge of this weird place? I- I’m just an average person...”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoosung’s eyes were wide as he looked up at the building set out before him and V. It was… _huge._ And not to mention… it was surrounded by nothing but forests for miles around. It was perfectly isolated… ideal for a secret cult… “Rika and MC… They’re somewhere in there…?”

“Unfortunately, yes. They should be. It’s dangerous though… Maybe we should wait…” V muttered, before he felt as though he was being given an intense stare through his sunglasses. “I have my reasons-!”

“Reasons… Yeah right. It took somebody important to me being taken after losing somebody else important in my life – in _our_ lives – for you to do something! Rika could have been _helped!_ ” Yoosung then fell silent, and clenched his fists. “Rika leaving… It’s the entire reason I turned to gaming and began to neglect my studies.” After a few more moments, he leaned against a tree. “And MC… She’s so bright and lit up the classes we’re both in. She’s nice to talk to, and made me smile so much...” 

The words coming out of Yoosung made V feel almost bad…  But he knew that if Yoosung had known about Rika leaving the RFA for Mint Eye… He would have followed, almost like a lost little puppy. He didn’t like thinking of Yoosung like that, but he honestly couldn’t think of the situation any other way.

As V remained deep in thought, Yoosung felt himself getting fidgety. It was all words, no action… He wanted to get you and Rika back! So, he waited for another few moments, and noticed how V still seemed distracted. 

Yoosung began to run. He didn’t care if V had a plan, he was going in and nobody was going to stop him! If there was any moment for him to be reckless, it was now. It reminded him of some moment from a nother MMO like LOLOL… A video went viral of somebody’s character doing that in a dungeon a few years back… Maybe he could copy that, and go screaming his name as he ran inside Mint Eye too.

It took a lot of effort for Yoosung to push the doors open, and as he did, he was met with an intricately decorated hallway. He paused for a moment and gulped. Rather than lights, there were many candles across the walls, giving a slight eerie glow to the place. All that he wanted to do was run back out, but he had a reason why he was here… He needed to be brave. To make things easier for him, he could… pretend it was a game. Yeah… He had to go through the dark level before he could rescue the princess!

His moment of newfound confidence was quickly brought down though… He began to hear voices nearby, and eyes were falling on him. “It’s an intruder… Somebody get Unknown and the Saviour!” Within a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by people wearing dark cloaks, and all the colour drained from his face. 

In all honesty, Yoosung wanted to cry. He wanted to fall to the ground and just cry. He wasn’t given the chance though, because some of the strange people had grabbed hold of his arms to stop him from doing anything such as running. 

_This was V’s fault… V’s fault he was here and that this cult was a thing in the first place…_

Defeat.

Yoosung felt defeated. His head fell down as the tears began to fall, and he felt the pins fall out of his hair in turn making it cover some of his face. 

In the distance, V was looking on in horror the best that he could. He ended up noticing that Yoosung had disappeared from his side, and that the doors to Mint Eye were open. By the time he was inside, the youngest RFA member was already surrounded by Rika’s disciples, meaning that it was too late for him to do anything without getting into trouble himself.

A sudden cheer from the disciples brought everyone but Yoosung’s attention to a set of stairs at the end of the hall, and the sound of heeled shoes hitting the marbled floor echoed around. Silence then filled the air again, and there were too gasps.

“Yoosung-!” That voice made the student look up, and he tried to break free of the people holding onto him. He had to go over to Rika, he had to hug her, he had to embrace her! And then, he noticed you just behind her, looking anxious as you realised it was him stood there. “Disciples, release my cousin. Let him come here...”

Within seconds of being released, Yoosung had ended up running over to Rika, and grabbed hold of her tightly, whispering that he had thought she was dead. Once he had done that, he turned to you. “I- I was so scared when you never showed up to our classes, and then found out your apartment had been abandoned, b- but you’re here! Safe! I- I’m so happy, I could just-!” 

Your eyes widened in shock as Yoosung suddenly embraced you, before he then gently rested his hands on your cheeks and pressed his lips against yours. He- He was kissing you?! Yoosung… Had been wanting to kiss you?! He’d been looking for you, had been concerned for you, had  _liked_ you?!

But… You couldn’t argue with this. It… felt nice. He was so gentle at first,  making you feel warm and flustered, before he seemed to almost lose control as he took the kiss further. He took your lips between his, and the initial chasteness seemed to have gone through the window. 

He was enjoying this.

So were you.

Eventually, he separated from you, giggling, out of breath, and red in the face. Only Rika remained there now, as she had made the disciples disperse. Then, he closed his eyes and laughed awkwardly. “That, um… Th- That was my first kiss...”


End file.
